SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s government announced on Tuesday a sweeping overhaul of its employment permit system for foreign workers, pledging to relax restrictions on workplace changes and extend residency periods for those holding E-9 visas. The reforms also aim to tighten sanctions on employers found guilty of labor rights violations. At [...]
FOLKSTON, Ga. Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The return of more than 300 South Korean workers detained in last week’s U.S. immigration raid at Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution’s joint battery plant is drawing relief in Seoul, but partner companies say their absence has left a gaping hole in the highly specialized construction project. [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and the top military officer at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) discussed Tuesday ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the defense and arms manufacturing sectors. The meeting between Ahn and Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the NATO military committee, took place on the [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday he feels heavy responsibility over the detention of South Korean workers at a battery plant construction site in Georgia by U.S. immigration authorities, offering his deep sympathy. Lee made the remarks at a Cabinet meeting as more than 300 South Koreans have been [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Platform and special employment workers in South Korea, long excluded from basic labor protections, earn far below the legal minimum wage and face chronic job insecurity, according to a new government-backed study that is fueling calls for urgent reform. A report by the Korea Labor Institute estimated that about [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — As South Korea weighs proposals for a shorter workweek and extended retirement age, a growing number of companies are already adopting flexible schedules — in some cases reducing hours to just four days — in what could become a model for broader labor market reform. Major firms including SK [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The Trump administration has stepped up efforts to enlist South Korea’s nuclear industry in its ambitious plan to launch 10 new large-scale reactors by 2030, underscoring Washington’s dependence on foreign builders to revive a domestic sector weakened by decades of dormancy. According to government and industry officials, U.S. Deputy [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s central bank, in coordination with the government and the country’s largest lenders, is preparing to test the use of central bank digital currency (CBDC) for distributing public subsidies, a move officials say could curb misuse and improve accountability. According to financial industry sources, the six major banks [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — President Lee Jae Myung said Monday he will develop the artificial intelligence (AI) industry into the nation’s next-generation driver of growth through investment. Lee announced the goal of making South Korea one of the world’s top three AI powerhouses at the launch of the National AI Strategy Committee, chaired [...]
GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Sept. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Decline in the water storage rate at drought-stricken Gangneung’s main water supply reservoir has slowed down amid an all-out national effort to cope with the unprecedented crisis, municipal officials said Monday. The water storage rate at the Obong Reservoir stood at 12.2 percent as of 2 p.m. [...]